Vancouver Canucks Erik Gudbranson To Undergo Shoulder Surgery

The injury news continues to get worse for Vancouver Canucks defenseman Erik Gudbranson. He originally suffered a shoulder injury on November 22nd and missed 12 games. He will now likely be out for the seasons as the Canucks announced he will undergo shoulder surgery.

Gudbranson was involved in many rumours during the NHL trade deadline. Instead, the defenseman signed a three-year, $12 million contract extension to remain in Vancouver. He was originally acquired by the Canucks in a trade that sent Jared McCann and two draft picks to the Florida Panthers in May of 2016.

“Erik is an important part of our team and provides a physical element to our blueline,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning said on the extension. “His leadership qualities help us as we continue to integrate younger players in our lineup.

The numbers have not been in Gudbranson’s favour over his career. In 52 games this season, he has just two goals and three assists. His Corsi for sits at 43.9% while he has a relative Corsi of -6.0, the second worst of his career.

Over his career, he has 14 goals and 40 assists in 391 games. The possession metrics don’t look much better over his entire career. Gudbranson has a career Corsi for of 47.9 percent while his relative numbers sit at -3.2.

What This Means For The Future

For Gudbranson, this likely ends a season in which there have not been many positives for him or the team. The Canucks are far out of the playoff picture and sit with the third-worst record at 25-39-9. Their 59 points are only three ahead of the last-place Buffalo Sabres.

With the extension set to kick in next season, only time will tell if Gudbranson is able to turn around a career that has not seen many positives.